A/N: I really don't have much to say for this author's note except…enjoy the chapter!
Like last chapter, I'll be using content from The Dark Knight Rises, so WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen the movie and want to find out what happens yourself, reading my story wouldn't be advisable. But if you've seen it, or you just want to read and find out what happens, then by all means, read on!
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or any of its characters. They all belong to DC Comics and Christopher Nolan… Even though I'd really like to. If I did I would put much more John Blake in the movie. And my characters would most definitely be added.
Reviewers and Replies:
ZabuzasGirl: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
Shaybo27: That's a great idea, actually. I may use that if you'd let me. I always give credit where credit is due. Thank you for the review! Haha, that rhymed.
Katara Melody Cullen: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
wisegirl2772: Yeah, Rosalie's not very ready to open up to John… yet. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you like this chapter!
samdel1997: This DVD will most definitely be worth the wait, though I may just have to buy two copies, because I'll probably watch the first copy so much that it completely ruins it. Oh well, Batman and John Blake are definitely worth the money spent. Thank you for the review!
silverwolfloststar: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
NathalieIyper: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
Sam0728: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
Blairx6661: The amount of time between chapter 10 and 11 is only a few hours. I didn't want to write the Bane/Batman fight scene in chapter ten because that would have made it far too long. I'm sorry for the confusion, but thank you so much for all of your reviews that you posted! I'm really glad you like this story so far, and I hope you like the rest of it.
Luli Cullen: Hey, thank you for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well!
randomreader19: Thank you for the review. I actually get bits of the script from a few websites. I've seen the movie a few times, but I could never remember it that well, haha. I wish I could though. That would be epic.
-IWRU-
At 11:00 at night, Rosalie finds herself pacing in the lonely apartment, throwing random glances at her suitcase. As Rosalie paces, she weighs out her options. She strides to her suitcase and unzips it. She pulls out all of her clothes and looks at the remaining outfit left in the bottom of the suitcase, neatly folded. She picks up a piece of the outfit and runs her fingers over the material.
'You can even do a little bit of the 'good guy' thing you did when we first got here,' Selina's words run through Rosalie's mind. Rosalie considers the fact that she's very out of practice and almost sets the item in her hands down, and then considers the fact that she only wants answers. She wants to know why the congressman didn't turn her in along with Selina. Rosalie makes a hasty decision and strips out of her recent outfit and begins to dress in her other outfit.
When she finishes dressing, she stands in front of her sister's full length mirror. She looks herself over in the mirror. Her black corset top with black feathers lining the top of it, and her black pants still fit perfectly. She puts on her black boots with a sturdy, studded heel. She pulls on black gloves that go past her elbows, and finally her mask. The mask is in the shape of a swan, and it's mostly black. The swan's wings consist of black feathers, and both wings come up to meet together around her forehead and where the wings meet, lays a small crown. The skin flaunted on her back, shows the head and the top of the wings of the black swan tattooed on her back. Where the newspapers named her sister the Cat, they named her the Black Swan. Gotham hasn't seen the Black Swan in nearly two years, but with everything that's happening, Rosalie believes that it's time for the Black Swan to make another appearance.
Rosalie reluctantly unclasps her mother's necklace and puts it underneath her sister's pillow, just in case, and glances at the laptop on her sister's dresser. A profile of Congressman Gilly is displayed on the screen which just so happens to include his address, much to Rosalie's approval. Unfortunately for Rosalie, he lived all the way over on the other side of town. Rosalie glances out the window and sees her neighbor's motorcycle. She tilts her head to the side a bit and shrugs.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Rosalie grabs a small flashlight from one of the kitchen drawers, and she opens her sister's window and climbs down the old fire escape. She jumps off of the six inch gap from the bottom of the fire escape to the ground. She walks to the end of the alleyway and glances around the corner. She walks out and pulls the motorcycle into the alley, turns the flashlight on and puts it in her mouth, positioning it where she needs it. She struggles a bit, but eventually pulls the ignition cover off of the bike, and fishes out the battery and ignition wires out, which isn't hard, for she knows they're typically red and green. Think Christmas, Selina always told her. Rosalie twists the wires together, and she takes the flashlight out of her mouth and smiles when the bike starts up.
Rosalie kicks off the ground and begins her journey to the congressman's home. Her driving was a bit shaky at first but she eventually gets the hang of it. It takes Rosalie nearly thirty minutes to find the congressman's home, and stops the motorcycle almost a block away to avoid being caught. She observes his home when she finally reaches it and notices that there's only one light on in the house. She quickly hides around the side of the house when the front door opens. She smirks when none other than the congressman steps out and begins to walk down the long driveway. She subtly begins to walk behind him, staying on the grassy path to avoid the sound of her heels clicking on the concrete. He bends down to pick up the paper, and turns around. He jumps, startled when he sees her standing directly behind him. She stares at his surprised face and steps onto the driveway, taking slow steps until she's standing directly in front of him.
"Selina Kyle was arrested today," Rosalie says, deliberately lowering the octave of her voice so it's almost alluring and sultry. The congressman stays silent. "But her sister wasn't. Why?"
"Because I know who she really is. Who you are," he says, confidently. Rosalie doesn't let the surprise show on her face, keeping her face blank. "While I was at your place and you and your sister were asleep, I went through some of your things to find out who you were. I couldn't find anything. You girls were extraordinary at concealing your identities. But I found a suitcase under your bed, and found your costume," he says, gesturing to what Rosalie was wearing.
"That doesn't explain why you didn't turn me in," Rosalie says, her voice returning to normal, but she talks quietly.
"Three years ago there was a robbery at a gas station. My daughter and the cashier were the only ones in that gas station and the robber killed the cashier and was holding a gun to my daughter's head… he was going to shoot her, until the Black Swan came in and knocked the man unconscious and told my daughter to call the police. You saved my daughter's life, so I thought I'd return the favor. Despite what I wanted to do with your sister, I love my family. I can't lose them, and if my wife knows that I wasn't really kidnapped, she'd leave me and take my children away from me. I'm sorry about your sister, but I can't lose my family," he says, and starts to walk past her. Rosalie glares and grabs the man's shirt collar and pulls him close to her.
"If you tell anybody-," Rosalie snarls, but the congressman cuts her off.
"I won't. I swear," he says, and Rosalie searches his eyes for any hint of doubt or a lie. She's satisfied when she finds none, and releases the man, and swiftly walks away. She doesn't make any comments about Selina because it would be pointless. Selina is already in jail, and will be getting out soon enough because of Bane. She didn't hurt the congressman for lying about her sister, because the Black Swan can't afford any negative attention right now. The last thing she needs is for Bane to do with her what he did with the Batman.
-IWRU-
Rosalie wakes up at 8:00 the next morning and sits on her bed. She leans forward; burying her face in her hands and rubs her eyes. She takes a quick shower, and eats an equally quick breakfast, and gets dressed in a blue shirt, a pair of white jeans, a black scarf, and a pair of black boots. Rosalie shrugs on her blue pea coat and leaves her apartment building. Rosalie makes a twenty minute walk until she arrives at the home she decided she needed to make a stop by the previous night.
She walks up the steps to the front door and knocks a few times. She hears a child's voice call out 'I'll get it!' and the door opens. Rosalie smiles at the nine year old boy who opens the door. The boy smiles widely.
"Mama Aunt Rosie's here!" he shouts, throwing his arms around her waist. Another young boy appears this one seven years old, and he hugs Rosalie along with his brother.
"Hey guys," Rosalie says, petting the boys' heads.
"Nathan, Sam, let your Aunt Rosie breathe," Joanie calls, walking down the hallway to the door, smiling at Rosalie. Joanie wraps Rosalie in a hug. "Where the hell have you been the last few days?"
"I got into a bit of trouble," Rosalie says, nonchalantly as Joanie pulls away.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Joanie asks, closing the front door. Rosalie takes her coat off, but leaves her scarf on. "Sweetie what happened to your wrists?"
"I told you, I got into a bit of trouble. But I'm fine," Rosalie says, in a tone that suggests that she'd much rather not talk about it. Joanie takes the hint and lets the subject drop.
"Well, come sit down. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Joanie says, gesturing to the kitchen.
"No, really I'm okay. I was actually wondering if I could talk to Martin for a minute, if he's here," Rosalie says, and Joanie's eyes show surprise.
"Yeah, of course. He's just there in his office. Go on in," Joanie says, and Rosalie nods with a small smile. She walks down the hallway to Martin's office and knocks on the door.
"Come in," Martin calls, and Rosalie walks in, closing the door behind her. "Rosalie?" Martin asks, looking up from his computer.
"I have a question," Rosalie says, sitting down on one of the chairs in Martin's office.
"Sure," he says, turning away from the computer.
"You do kickboxing and Wing Chun right? Like, you're still practicing it?" Rosalie asks.
"Recreationally, yes," Martin answers, nodding.
"I need you to fight me," Rosalie says, and Martin laughs, until he sees that she's serious.
"Rosalie I'm not going to fight you," Martin says.
"I'll give you 100 dollars," she says, and Martin stares at her wide eyed.
"Rosalie, what's this all about," Martin asks.
"It doesn't matter. Please? I'm asking you as a friend. You're the only person I know that can actually fight that's available to do it. Please? Just once. Maybe twice, but I won't bother you more than just today," Rosalie says, her eyes pleading. "I know how to fight. I just need to get back into the swing of it."
Martin sighs, looking at her thoughtfully. He takes out a pad of paper and writes down an address on it. He rips the piece of paper off, and hands it to Rosalie.
"Meet me there in two hours. That should give me enough time to finish up this work and get there. It's a private gym that I use," Martin says as Rosalie looks over the address. She nods and sends him a grateful smile.
"Thank you, so much," Rosalie says, standing up.
"Don't thank me yet. You're going to hate me later," Martin tells her, and she smirks at him.
"I'll keep that in mind," she says, and walks out of his office. She walks into the kitchen where she can hear Joanie making breakfast. "Hey, Joanie, I have to get going. I'll come back soon though."
"Alright, sweetie. I expect details between you and that cop next time I see you," Joanie says, pointing a wooden spoon at her. Rosalie laughs a bit.
"Alright. I'll see you later," Rosalie says, walking out of the kitchen. She passes the living room and sees both boys sitting on the couch, watching cartoons.
"Sam, Nathan, come give me a hug, I'm leaving," she says, and both boys scramble to their feet and run to her, literally tackling her in a hug. Rosalie laughs along with the boys and wraps her arms around them. She waits for them to pick themselves up off the floor before she hauls herself to her feet. She presses a kiss to both boys' forehead. "I'll see you boys later, alright?"
"Bye, Aunt Rosie!" they call, going back into the living room. Rosalie puts her coat back on, and leaves the house, quickly making her way back to her apartment.
-IWRU-
"Where to, Miss?" a cab driver asks Rosalie when she closes the door.
"Um, this address," she says, handing him the piece of paper that Martin had given her previously that day. The driver nods and begins the drive. In about ten minutes they arrive in front of an old building. Rosalie steps out of the cab after handing the driver a ten dollar bill, wearing a pair of blue sweatpants that end at her mid-calf, a gray tank top, and a blue sweatshirt. She pushes on the heavy door of the building and walks in to find Martin standing there, texting on his cell phone, waiting for her.
"I called you twice. Where were you?" Martin asks.
"Oh, I uh, don't have my cell phone. I didn't know I was late," Rosalie says, and Martin shrugs a bit.
"You want to get started?" Martin asks, and Rosalie nods. The two walk to the center of the room on a group of blue mats, and they stand at least two feet away from each other. "So, you say you know how to fight?"
"Yeah. I just haven't in a while," Rosalie answers.
"Why the sudden interest?" Martin asks curiously.
"Hobby," Rosalie answers simply. Martin nods skeptically and walks over to a closet and pulls out a punching bag. He lifts the heavy bag and hangs it on the available hook where he once stood. He walks back to the closet and pulls out a pair of gloves, and tosses them to Rosalie. Rosalie looks at him questioningly. He gestures to the gloves and Rosalie reluctantly puts them on.
"Punch the bag a bit. I want to see how you punch," Martin says, and Rosalie chuckles a bit. She rolls her shoulders a bit and throws a few punches at the bag. "No, no, no. Stop," Martin says, and Rosalie stops punching the bag and looks at him.
"What?" she asks.
"You're too tense," Martin says, and Rosalie furrows her eyebrows.
"Too tense?" Rosalie asks, confused.
"Tension reduces punching speed and power. Relax your arms before you punch the bag," Martin says, and Rosalie takes a deep breath. She attempts to relax her arms and throws another punch at the bag. "Wrong."
Rosalie sighs deeply through her nose and closes her eyes. "Your arms are still too tense. You're not going to hurt your target as much as you'll hurt yourself. You need to relax your arm muscles before you throw a punch, Rosalie. Try again," he says. Rosalie looks at the bag for a moment, and shakes out her arms a bit. She relaxes the muscles in her arms and punches the bag a few times. "Better. Keep going."
Rosalie continues to punch the bag as Martin observes. She continues to punch the bag for nearly fifteen minutes, stopping every so often to take a breath. "Alright. That's enough. Take a break."
Rosalie steps away from the punching bag, taking the gloves off of her sweaty hands. She puts her hands on her waist, breathing heavily.
"You tired already?" Martin asks, coming out of the closet after putting the punching bag away.
"I didn't see you doing much," Rosalie sneers to him. Martin laughs heartily, tossing her a water bottle. Rosalie uncaps the bottle and takes a small drink.
"You get to fight me next," Martin says, stretching his arms.
"Are you actually going to fight back?" Rosalie asks.
"Can you handle it?" Martin asks, curiously. Rosalie gives him a blank look and walks back over to the mats. Martin smirks a bit and stands in front of her. "Let's see what you can do."
Rosalie keeps her eyes on him, and dodges the first punch he throws at her. The next punch however, lands, knocking a bit of air out of her as he catches her in the stomach. Rosalie grimaces, and lets out a startled gasp as her feet are swept out from under her, and she lands on her back on the mats.
"Well that didn't take long," Martin scoffs, looking down at Rosalie, who glares up at him. "Focus. Get up."
"What were you a drill sergeant in the past?" Rosalie asks, hauling herself to her feet.
"I teach a bit of this in my spare time," Martin says, catching Rosalie off guard with a strong kick to the side, sending her to the floor again. "You're on the floor again."
"I wasn't ready," Rosalie hisses, glaring dangerously at him.
"Do you think I care? Those bruises and marks around your wrists prove that someone else didn't care either. Get up," Martin says in a leveled tone. Rosalie's eyes widen a bit, and she mentally curses herself for forgetting to put makeup on her neck and wrists before she left. She lifts herself to her feet again and Martin immediately advances on her, grabbing her wrist. Rosalie grabs onto the wrist of Martin's hand that grabbed her own wrist, and she kicks him in the stomach, and punches him in the face. Martin lets out a grunt of pain, but doesn't relinquish the hold on Rosalie's wrist. He twists it behind her back, and uses his strength to push her to the ground.
This sparring session goes on for at least an hour and a half with Martin slowly beginning to lose most of the matches between the two. Rosalie's confidence grows more with each time she knocks Martin to the floor. The two finally stop when Martin's phone begins ringing.
"Alright. That's enough for today. You really don't need any help," Martin says, picking up his phone. He looks at the time, and then looks back at Rosalie. "You clearly already know how to fight very well. It's like riding a bike. You never forget. You just needed a little practice."
Rosalie smiles a bit and the two exit the building. "You need a ride home?" Martin asks.
"If you wouldn't mind," Rosalie says, smiling at him.
"Get in," he says, gesturing to the car. Rosalie climbs in the passenger side, and the ride back to Rosalie's apartment is spent in silence. Rosalie appreciates greatly that Martin doesn't question her on the bruises on her neck. Martin never was one to get himself involved in someone else's drama, and he was thoroughly impressed with Rosalie's fighting skills. The girl could clearly handle her own. She just needed the confidence to do so.
-IWRU-
A/N: I'm sorry about the lack of John in this chapter but I absolutely promise he will be in the next one. Promise, promise, promise.
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